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In regard to Tim Darragh's article in the April 25 Morning Call: Having spent many of my summers as a youth at Stoddartsville, Luzerne County, on the Lehigh River at my grandmother's place overlooking the falls, I thought it was a wonderful article. But I would like to point out that the remains of a stone structure is what is left of the grist mill from years ago and that there are several pictures of the falls and other parts of the Lehigh in a publication called "Pennsylvania Beautiful," with many of the pictures taken by Wallace Nutting while traveling on horseback.

I hope everyone had an opportunity to read the two separate, but similar, stories in Jan. 21's paper. Their connection shows how corrupt our political and judicial systems can be. The first story was political consultant Thomas Severson pleading guilty to 14 misdemeanors. This is not the first time he has been charged with a crime. He received probation. The lawyer prosecuting Mr. Severson was from the office of state Attorney General Tom Corbett, who happens to be running for governor.

According to the Jan. 8 article, "Allentown rebuilding project gets final money needed": $8.9 million will be spent to construct 25 homes. That is a cost of $356,000 per unit, and they will sell for between $109,000 and $117,000. The same article states that a family of four earning $56,000 would qualify for the purchase -- $56,000 being 80 percent of the region's median income of $70,000. Draw your own conclusions. Ronald A. Long Allentown

Thanks to Emily Sohn of the Tribune Newspapers for writing about vegetarian kids published in The Morning Call on Dec. 21. Not enough people are aware of the many benefits to kids, teens and adults of eating vegetarian/vegan. As she points out, "Vegetarians not only consume less artery-clogging saturated fat and cholesterol but also get more ... antioxidants and vitamins, such as potassium, magnesium and vitamin C. They eat up to twice as much heart-healthy fiber from fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Thank you to Daniel Patrick Sheehan for his thoughtful look at the concerns and fears of some Muslims in our community ("For Muslims, nervous times again," Nov. 11) in the aftermath of the tragedy at Fort Hood, where an Army psychiatrist gunned down 13 people. The man is a Muslim; whether he's mentally ill or a terrorist, or both, is being investigated. Sheehan used so effectively the heartbreaking image of an empty playground at a local mosque/school on a beautiful fall day, as well as strong quotes, to illuminate the nervousness some Muslims feel about possibly being linked with such an atrocity.

I am an unemployed 20-year fundraiser and was appalled at The Morning Call's front page article, "Pennies on the dollar going to charities" on Nov. 8. Not only do I disagree with Mr. Darragh's opinion of charities that use a different type of fundraising practices than most, but I call his article very biased, misleading and incomplete. Plus, it certainly hurt unemployed fundraisers in this bleak economy, like me, who are searching for a job and worked for nonprofits with budgets ranging from $500,000 to $2 million.

Regarding the recent article about the "blighted" building at 120 Northampton St. -- the writer references the building at 100 Northampton St. as the "former Kaplan's Awnings building." It was the former Ralph Furniture Building and the former Chocolate Cornucopia Building. It is the current Kaplan's Awnings building -- we haven't gone anywhere. His sources stating our demise have been greatly exaggerated. Randi Kaplan DellaVechia Easton